Non-Maxwellianity of ion velocity distributions in the Earth's magnetosheath

We analyze the deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) of the ion velocity distribution function (iVDF) in collisionless plasma turbulence. Using data from the magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) mission, we examine the non-Maxwellianity of 439 685 iVDFs in the Earth's magnetosheath. We find that the iVDFs' anisotropies and the high-order non-bi-Maxwellian features are widespread and can be significant. Our results show that the complexity of the iVDFs is strongly influenced by the ion plasma beta and turbulence intensity, with high-order non-LTE features emerging in the presence of large-amplitude magnetic field fluctuations. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that turbulence-driven magnetic curvature contributes to the isotropization of the iVDFs by scattering the ions, emphasizing the complex interaction between turbulence and the velocity distribution of charged particles in collisionless plasmas.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. E
Published
2025-09-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/7p1x-84y9
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31
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article

Non-Maxwellianity of ion velocity distributions in the Earth's magnetosheath

Ida Svenningsson, Oreste Pezzi, Alexandros Chasapis, Emiliya Yordanova et al.
2 citations
Physical review. E
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
2.31
article

Non-Maxwellianity of ion velocity distributions in the Earth's magnetosheath

Ida Svenningsson, Oreste Pezzi, Alexandros Chasapis, Emiliya Yordanova, S. Servidio, Anton Artemyev, Y. V. Khotyaintsev, Louis Richard, K. G. Klein
article en
2 citations

Abstract

We analyze the deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) of the ion velocity distribution function (iVDF) in collisionless plasma turbulence. Using data from the magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) mission, we examine the non-Maxwellianity of 439 685 iVDFs in the Earth's magnetosheath. We find that the iVDFs' anisotropies and the high-order non-bi-Maxwellian features are widespread and can be significant. Our results show that the complexity of the iVDFs is strongly influenced by the ion plasma beta and turbulence intensity, with high-order non-LTE features emerging in the presence of large-amplitude magnetic field fluctuations. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that turbulence-driven magnetic curvature contributes to the isotropization of the iVDFs by scattering the ions, emphasizing the complex interaction between turbulence and the velocity distribution of charged particles in collisionless plasmas.

Physical review. EVol. 112(5)
Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "Alessandro Faedo" (IT), Uppsala University (SE), Planetary Science Institute (US), Swedish Institute of Space Physics (SE), University of Arizona (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), University of Colorado Boulder (US), University of Colorado System (US), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (US), Institute for the Science and Technology of Plasmas (IT), National Research Council (IT), University of Calabria (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
2.31
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